Giuseppe Notarstefano reconfirmed as president of Italian Catholic Action

Last Updated: May 24, 2024

Il palermitano Giuseppe Notarstefano confermato presidente dell’Azione cattolica italiana

The permanent council of the Italian Episcopal Conference has confirmed Giuseppe Notarstefano as the national president of the Italian Catholic Action until 2027. A Sicilian, 54 years old, living in Palermo, he was appointed by the bishops at the 79th general assembly of the CEI. An economist and statistician, he is a professor at the Lumsa University in the Sicilian capital.

“I feel immense gratitude towards the national council of the Catholic Action,” Notarstefano commented, “our bishops, first and foremost Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, and all the members of the permanent episcopal council of the CEI, for the renewed trust in me. By entrusting me with this significant role once again, which I hope to always honor with the help of the Lord, I renew my commitment to the Association, its long history of service to the Church and the country, always active in building the common good and peace.”

“My first thought at this moment,” he continues, “goes to all the members and priests assistants of our Catholic Action, who are committed in the thousands of parishes in our beloved Italy. I send them a big and strong embrace, saying thank you for the energy they spend not only in making our Association a welcoming and fraternal place, where every day we learn the art of blending faith and life, but also by offering a humble and generative service to the synodal Church so that the Gospel shines in all its beauty in the streets and roads of our cities.”

“In this journey,” he adds, “I hope we will always find support in the teachings and example of Pope Francis. The memory of the beautiful National Encounter last April 25th in St. Peter’s Square, where tens of thousands of members and friends of the Catholic Action embraced the Holy Father, is very much alive in the hearts of all the young people, adults of the AC. Our home is open to all; it is the home of Evangelii Gaudium and Fratelli tutti. As we start this new triennium of the associative journey, following the path indicated by the works of the XVIII National Assembly of the AC, the Association wants to be even more a space of friendship and sharing of everyone’s life. To promote styles and practices of caring for life and to contribute to the weaving of alliances for the good of all, through education in personal responsibility, public engagement, understanding of institutions, participation, democracy, and, I like to emphasize it on the anniversary of the Capaci massacre, legality. As Vittorio Bachelet used to say, the Catholic Action wants to help everyone to love God and people, responsibly living the life of the Church, of our communities, stitching up the wounds of living, within a complexity that always reveals Hope.”